Toxic

"Mom, you know how we shouldn't stay in toxic relationships? Well, I think I'm in a toxic relationship. With math. It keeps trying to get me to solve its problems. " -Phoebe, after working on her math assignments yesterday.

The Perfect Disguise

"Mom! Can you see me?"

Different and the Same

This picture was taken sixteen years ago today. Hmm, I think one of them has changed a bit more than the other.

When I downloaded this picture I discovered that someone had titled it "Peter is Awesome! And Cute!" That's something that hasn't changed.

Jump and Dance

We all enjoyed the parade at Sesame Place, but Topher really loved the music.

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

Some of our friends have season passes to Sesame Place, a small amusement park based on Sesame Street, and invited us to join them on Monday for an adventure. Bryan had to work and Peter and Cooper had plans with the other youth from church so I took Phoebe, Sophie, and Topher.

Can you spot Cookie Monster in his Mardi Gras finest?

The park was only open for a few hours, but we made the most of the time and enjoyed several rides.

We got a kick out of the Broadway show poster parodies we saw near the theater. Not pictured: Abby (instead of Annie), Scent (Rent, with a silhouette of Snuffy's trunk), Preschool of Rock (School of Rock), and Bearspray (Hairspray).

Can you see Les Monsterables in the edge of the picture?

Our whole group got to take a picture with Telly.

We found Big Bird's nest.

The whole park was celebrating Mardi Gras. That's why the kids were able to try beignets for the first time. They were big fans.

We went on one last ride while we waited for the parade at the end of our visit.

The weather was perfect and delightfully warm for President's Day. It was fun to hang out with friends in such a fun place.

Gingerbread Houses: Valentine's Day Edition

Originally the plan was to make gingerbread houses at Christmas time. December got so busy that we decided we would save them to make when Bryan's parents were visiting. And then we got COVID and the gingerbread house plan got shelved indefinitely. When we started to feel better the kids asked when those gingerbread houses would be built. It occurred to me that Christmas isn't the only time for such an activity. What if we did them for Valentine's Day?

That's why on Sunday afternoon we gathered at our table with graham crackers (a switch from our usual prepackaged kits), frosting, sprinkles, and candy.

The consensus between the kids is that they preferred the creative freedom of using graham crackers instead of precut gingerbread pieces. Topher and I both appreciated pulling out my collection of frosting tubes and using several of them up, though my reasons were decidedly different from his.

Here's Peter's house:

Phoebe's auto shop:

Topher's layered creation:

Cooper's Halloween inspired edifice:

And Sophie ski chalet:

It was a messy but fun activity.

Heather on the Door

I saw a YouTube tutorial for making a wreath using Dollar Store materials and decided to give it a try. I'm delighted with the result. Now that Valentine's Day is over, I guess I'm ready for spring.

Vitamin D

Wednesday got up to a balmy sixty-five degrees so I took the younger three to the park. They ran and played and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. The wind was pretty ferocious, so it felt colder than it was, but it was still lovely to be outside.

Sound It Out

On Saturday Topher wanted to play doctor. He got a piece of paper, used his safety scissors to trim it down so it would fit on his toy doctor's clipboard, and went to work sounding out words. I told him that the "f" sound in Sophie's name used the same letters that make that sound in his name. He did the rest on his own. He told me that this says, "Sophie the patient."

I think it's awesome.

Food Is the Food of Love

Like most holidays at our house, yesterday was all about the fancy food. The kids had bagels with Nutella and festive sprinkles for breakfast.

Then a few of them had heart shaped sandwiches for lunch.

We finished the day with chicken salad on croissants and small Valentine bags which are not pictured. Also not pictured: Peter. He was still at school when we had our fun dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day!